Hannibal Mejbri (Arabic: حنبعل المجبري; born 21 January 2003) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Championship club Birmingham City, on loan from Premier League club Manchester United, and the Tunisia national team.
![]() Mejbri with Manchester United in 2022 | ||||||||||||||||
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Hannibal Mejbri[1] | |||||||||||||||
Date of birth | (2003-01-21) 21 January 2003 (age 19) | |||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Ivry-sur-Seine, France | |||||||||||||||
Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | |||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Midfielder | |||||||||||||||
Club information | ||||||||||||||||
Current team |
Birmingham City (on loan from Manchester United) | |||||||||||||||
Number | 6 | |||||||||||||||
Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
2009–2017 | Paris FC | |||||||||||||||
2017–2018 | Boulogne-Billancourt | |||||||||||||||
2018–2019 | Monaco | |||||||||||||||
2019–2021 | Manchester United | |||||||||||||||
Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
2021– | Manchester United | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||||
2022– | → Birmingham City (loan) | 15 | (0) | |||||||||||||
National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||
2018–2019 | France U16 | 12 | (1) | |||||||||||||
2019 | France U17 | 3 | (2) | |||||||||||||
2021– | Tunisia | 18 | (0) | |||||||||||||
Honours
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:16, 11 November 2022 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:27, 27 September 2022 (UTC) |
Mejbri joined the Manchester United youth system in 2019 from AS Monaco. He had previously spent time at the Clairefontaine academy. He made his senior debut for the club in a Premier League game in May 2021.
Born in France to Tunisian parents, Mejbri represented his native country at under-16 and under-17 levels. He made his senior international debut for Tunisia in 2021.
Mejbri was born in Ivry-sur-Seine (suburban Paris), France,[3] and joined Paris FC in 2009.[4] In 2016, it was reported that he was being scouted by several English clubs, including Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal, and spent time on trial with the latter.[5] He also spent time studying at the prestigious INF Clairefontaine academy.[6] His elder brother, Abderrahmen Mejbri, is the current sporting coach working in Pho Hien FC, a Vietnamese youth development club that Hannibal once visited and trained with.[7]
Despite the interest from English clubs, Mejbri had a short spell with Athletic Club de Boulogne-Billancourt, before joining AS Monaco in 2018 for a fee of €1 million.[6] Although initially impressed by Monaco's youth development,[6] Mejbri became disillusioned by the Monégasque club within a year of signing, with his parents claiming that the Ligue 1 side had breached contract agreements.[8] In 2019, he was being tracked by clubs across Europe, including the German, French and Spanish champions, Bayern Munich,[8] Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona respectively.[9][10]
On 11 August 2019, Premier League side Manchester United announced on their website that they had reached an agreement with Monaco to sign Mejbri, with the youngster reportedly rejecting moves to other English clubs.[11] The fee paid by the Manchester club was believed to be around €5 million, possibly rising to €10 million in add-ons.[8][12]
Mejbri settled quickly into Manchester United's youth teams, progressing to the under-23 squad despite still being 17.[13][14] Mejbri made his debut playing for the Manchester United U21 side against Salford City in the 2020–21 EFL Trophy on 9 September 2020.[15] He signed a new contract with United in March 2021.[16] On 20 May 2021, he won the Denzil Haroun Reserve Player of the Year award.[17]
Mejbri made his senior debut for United in a 2–1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in the final game of the Premier League season on 23 May 2021; he came on to replace Juan Mata in the 82nd minute.[18]
On 29 August 2022, Mejbri joined Championship club Birmingham City on loan for the 2022–23 season.[19]
Mejbri made 12 appearances for France at under-16 level and three appearances at under-17 level.[4]
Eligible to represent Tunisia through his parents,[8][20] with his father, Lotfi, reportedly having played in Tunisia,[12] Mejbri was called up to the Tunisia national team for the first time in May 2021, committing his international future to the nation of his parents' birth.[21] He debuted in a 1–0 friendly win over DR Congo on 5 June 2021.[22]
Hannibal made his 2021 FIFA Arab Cup debut, where he started in all five of Tunisia's games as they progressed to the final. Hannibal put in two man-of-the-match performances against United Arab Emirates and Egypt in the group stage and semi-finals respectively.[23] Hannibal started in the final against Algeria on 18 December 2021, eventually losing 2–0 to Algeria to end as runners-up.[24]
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
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Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Manchester United U21 | 2020–21[25] | — | — | — | — | — | 4[lower-alpha 1] | 1 | 4 | 1 | ||||
2021–22[26] | — | — | — | — | — | 1[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||||
Total | — | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | 5 | 1 | ||||||
Manchester United | 2020–21[25] | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
2021–22[26] | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
Total | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 3 | 0 | |||
Birmingham City (loan) | 2022–23[27] | Championship | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 15 | 0 | |||
Career total | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 23 | 1 |
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
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Tunisia | 2021 | 9 | 0 |
2022 | 9 | 0 | |
Total | 18 | 0 |
Tunisia
Individual
Birmingham City F.C. – current squad | |
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Tunisia squads | |||||||||||||
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